New Genes for the SSSD (4)

New Genes
Copyright ©1998, 2003 J. Jeffrey Bragg

THE OUTCROSS STOCK gets a thorough workout in harness. Although we make a practice of training litters as teams whenever possible, it doesn't stay that way. When it's time to pick the first-string team for this year, it becomes a question of who can handle the speed and the distance and who can't. We try some odd combinations. The differences don't bother the dogs much. Sometimes we wonder how significant the differences are: look at half-Alaskan HAPPY beside her younger half-sister MOKKA (by SEPALLEO ex TONYA). Anyone who came to the kennel not knowing the dogs and tried to pick the half-Alaskan H-litter out from the rest would get confused, pretty quickly.


TONYA and her outcross son HAAKON as he gets tried out at double-lead	Which one did you say was half-Alaskan? HAPPY (at left) and her yearling Markovo-Seppala half-sister MOKKA

Tonya/Happy 2003 first-string team photo

The first string 2003: TONYA and HAPPY at lead, PAVEL and PIA point, PYOTR and SURGUT swing, ZAR and ZAKI at wheel

THE PHOTO ABOVE SHOWS THE the final configuration of the 2003 first string. TONYA and SURGUT are Markovo-Seppalas. HAPPY is half-Alaskan. PAVEL, PIA, PYOTR, ZAR and ZAKI are by Siberia import SHAKAL IZ SOLOVYEV out of Markovo-Seppala bitches. An odd combination? It made a very steady, strong team -- just ask Continental Kennel Club's President Michael Roy! This team carried him through some pretty rough back country for a 26-mile excursion in late February 2003; it took us 2 1/2 hours only. At 10+ mph, an eight-dog team hauled over 50 pounds per dog for 26 miles with only 220 miles of conditioning on them (we had no snow till early January). They'd do much better than that with twice the mileage on them, but I was well satisfied. Steady, serious working performance is the ideal I'm after. It doesn't get much better than this team!